Ryuu Kusari no Ori -Kokoro no Uchi no “Kokoro”-

Chapter 7.19

The light that filled his vision subsided.

Nozomu slowly opened his eyelids and saw not the outer edge of Arcazam, but a dense forest in front of him.

"......Where is this?"

The light was shining through the gaps between the leaves of the trees, and the area was filled with the scent of trees.

They should have been on the outer edge of the city until earlier, but now they found themselves in the middle of the forest. The situation was so confusing that Lisa let out a bewildered voice.

"This is probably the forest outside Arcazam..."

Lisa looked around with a stunned expression.

Nozomu was calmly trying to grasp their situation from their surroundings.

"You can tell?"

"Yeah, look over there ..."

Nozomu pointed to a collapsed and battered tent and wooden fences scattered about. It was the site of the goblin settlement that had been wiped out by the Abyss Grief.

"But how did we get to such a place in such a short time?..."

"It's hard to believe, but it's probably teleportation magic ....... It's not magic that humans can use."

Lisa's eyes widened at Nozomu's words.

There were currently no humans on this continent who could use teleportation magic.

It had been confirmed that it existed as magic in ancient times, but there were barely traces of it in old ruins. Naturally, it had not yet been clarified.

At that moment, the sound of rubble crumbling echoed in the area.

They looked in the direction of the sound and saw Azel, who had brought Nozomu and Lisa here, looking down at them with furious gazes.

"This will be your grave, Tiamat. I will cast your filthy soul into eternal darkness so that you will never be able to come out to this land ever again."

In front of the scattered wreckages, a white-haired girl glared at Nozomu with eyes filled with murderous intent as she made such a declaration.

Nozomu gritted his teeth.

The girl in front of him knew about his secret, after all. If so, Zonne would definitely be involved in this.

"Tia-mat...?"

While Nozomu was alerted, Lisa looked bewildered at the name that Azel mentioned.

She was unable to keep up with the stormy turn of events and the words that kept coming at her so abruptly.

"What in the world is she talking about?"

Lisa unintentionally called out to Nozomu. However, her words were stopped by Nozomu, whose face distorted in pain.

"... Nozomu?"

"Guh~ ...!"

Nozomu had a pained expression on his face as if he was gritting his teeth. Surely, there was something wrong with him.

Suddenly, he was sweating profusely and his complexion was turning pale.

Lisa was so surprised by his unusual appearance that she rushed towards Nozomu without thinking.

"H-, hey, what's wrong!?"

His mouth was tightly clenched as if he was enduring something. Nozomu's legs were wobbling and shaking, and finally, he couldn't stand it anymore and fell to his knees.

"Haa, haa, haa ..."

Rough breathing intermittently leaked out of his mouth.

Lisa, who did not know the details of the situation, had no way of knowing, but the moment Azel came into sight, Tiamat had begun to go berserk, trying to break through Nozomu's body.

(Gigigi ....... Gugaaaa ......)

A groan echoed in his ears. An unpleasant pain, it was as if his entire body was being eaten by centipedes, and he kept having headaches churning inside his head.

Anger welled up from within his chest.

Even though he understood that it wasn't his, the torrent of hatred was so strong that it easily threw Nozomu's weak reasoning like a leaf falling onto the surface of the water.

"Damn......"

Nevertheless, Nozomu desperately continued to resist the torrent of hatred that was threatening to take over him.

He bit his lip so hard that it bled, and he tried to revive his consciousness, which was about to go completely blank.

"Well then, let's get it done quickly."

Azel declared so while raising her right hand high.

At the same time, white light radiated from her body.

It was no ordinary light. It was neither magic nor Qi. It was the light of the primordial element.

The expressions on Nozomu and Lisa's faces were drawn to the manifestation of powers that only spirit species could possess.

The light was launched directly into the sky and covered the entire sky. At the same time, the scenery around Nozomu began to fade.

The pigment seemed to have drained from the lush green trees, and the soil turned white like ashes.

The wind that should have caressed his cheeks disappeared, and a warm, windless space enveloped Nozomu.

"What in the world is this? ..."

"The barrier has distorted the space around you and severed your connection with the spirits. With this, no matter how much you rampage, not even a single tree or grass will be crushed in the real world. Let alone your screams, even the connection of that elf will not reach here."

Nozomu and Lisa gulped hearing these words.

Indeed, barrier magic could be used not only for defense but also for blocking sound, blocking presence, etc. There were a variety of techniques, but at best, they could only add a certain effect to a certain designated space.

However, if they assumed that the effect Azel was referring to was true, surely Nozomu and Lisa would be dragged into a completely different space. By no means, to the knowledge of the two of them, had they ever heard of such magic.

And once again, Azel's body was bathed in white light.

The erupted light danced around, forming complex multiple magic formations.

While these magic formations intertwined with each other, the white light converged at the center point of the formation and formed into something.

What formed was a huge harpoon made of white light. The tip of the harpoon was aimed at Nozomu, who kneeled down, and was released with great force.

"Kuh~!"

Lisa quickly pushed Nozomu out of the way. As a reaction, Lisa's body was slightly separated from Nozomu, and the harpoon of light passed through the gap with great force.

The harpoon of light passed through the gap and landed on a tree behind them, sending a flash of light and a strong blast of wind into the surrounding area.

"Kyaa~!"

"Guahh~!"

Nozomu and Lisa were blown away by the blast.

Lisa was thrown into the air but managed to twist her body in mid-air and made a good landing.

Nozomu also managed to stand up after using a falling technique while forcibly suppressing the pain running all over his body.

"Haa, haa ... Who are you? Are you related to that old man?"

"You don't need to know, and I'm not going to tell you."

No questions asked. As if to embody such words, the girl once again deploys multiple magic formations.

Light gathered in the six magic formations deployed above the girl's head and was launched into the sky as countless light arrows.

The light arrows changed direction in mid-air and, with their tips pointed toward Nozomu, rained down all at once.

"Uoo!"

A swarm of light arrows raining down. Nozomu forcibly suppressed the pain that ran throughout his body, opened his eyes, and instantly saw the trajectory of the incoming arrows.

At the same time, he instantly raised his Qi and activated his [Instantaneous Movement]. He jumped back from the spot and swung his katana at the light arrow that was about to hit him.

"Guu~!"

The arrows of light were heavier than they appeared, and each time they hit his katana, the pressure on Nozomu's arm was as if he had been hit with a hammer.

The arrows that didn't hit their mark penetrated deeply into the ground, sending up dust and sand that blocked Nozomu's vision. If he were to take a serious hit, his soft human body would be reduced to shreds of meat.

Nozomu was able to avoid a direct hit, but even so, he nearly lost his posture by the unexpected power of the blow.

The ground in front of him sank.

The arrows of light still continued rushing toward Nozomu.

"... Fuh~!"

Arrows of light of unusual power. However, Nozomu's skill was also not to be taken lightly.

He quickly corrected his body's center of gravity, which was about to shift. With his extraordinary sense of balance, he brought his body movements back under control and immediately responded to the situation by rotating his body.

With his body in a position as if he were about to fall to the ground, Nozomu swung his katana as if to strike down the approaching arrow of light from above.

The reaction of the slash caused Nozomu's body to float slightly, and Azel's arrow of light passed through the space where Nozomu's body had been just a moment before with great force. A moment later, Nozomu completely regained his posture.

Nozomu jumped back and swung his katana to deflect the arrows' trajectory and dodge it at the same time.

A technique that he learned in the combat training with Jihad, which allowed him to avoid his opponent's aggression. He fully utilized everything he had learned.

"... You're unexpectedly tenacious"

However, the girl in front of him was no ordinary person.

While frowned at Nozomu's ability to handle the light arrows she shot at him, she immediately redeployed her magic formations. She created twice as many light arrows as before and fired them at Nozomu again.

"Kuh~!"

Nozomu, who raised his fighting spirit even more, continued to deflect the arrows of light.

He used [Instanoues Movement -Curve Dance-] to dodge and intercept at the same time, but the army of light arrows led by Azel was too numerous.

"No-, Nozomu!"

With Nozomu being pushed into a one-sided situation, Lisa let out an impatient voice. Lisa was becoming even more confused by the situation happening in front of her, but she reflexively chanted and constructed a magic technique in the face of Nozomu's crisis.

Like Irisdina, Lisa's greatest strength is in close combat, using both sword and magic. However, she did not bring her weapon at the moment.

Therefore, she could only support Nozomu with magic.

A flame bullet appeared in Lisa's hand. Her ability [Niveei's Influence] multiplied the power of the flame bullet, and it instantly grew in size. She then attempted to fire the enlarged flame bullet at Azel, but ......

"You're in my way!"

"Kyaa~!"

However, before Lisa could release the flame bullet, Azel took the initiative and tried to destroy Lisa's magic.

An arrow of light pierced the flaming bullet and exploded.

Caught in the explosion of the flame bullet, which increased in power at close range, Lisa was blown away while caught in the flames.

"Ugh......"

Lisa, who was blown away and slammed against the ground hard, let out a cry of anguish.

But Azel did not even look at her.

"I have no use for you, human woman. Stay quiet and you won't be harmed, but the next time you tried to lay a hand on me, I'll kill you without hesitation."

"Lisa! Damn it!"

Seeing Lisa blown away in front of him, Nozomu felt his vision turning red.

Still, he could not afford to miss this opportunity.

Nozomu's teeth creaked in frustration, but he didn't miss the chance to take advantage of the moment when Azel's attention turned to Lisa and plunged in.

"Tch~!"

Azel immediately sent a legion of light arrows toward Nozomu.

A swarm of lights filled Nozomu's field of vision. However, Nozomu didn't slow down at all, instead, he stepped forward at once, accelerating further.

"Oooooo!"

Along with the voice of his fighting spirit, Nozomu thrust his Qi into his katana.

The [Phantom] he sent into his katana blade strengthened it to the utmost limit and released its radiance.

At the same time, Nozomu's vision faded away, and the approaching light arrows slowed down.

"Sei! Sei! Sei!"

Nozomu stepped into the oncoming swarm of light arrows and swung the katana in his hand. Each time he did so, the light arrows were cut in half and scattered in the air.

He then activated his [Instantanous Movement -Curve Dance-]. Quickly, he weaved through the swarm of light arrows and closed the distance to Azel at once.

"Oh......"

"Haaa!"

Nozomu finally caught Azel within reach of his blade range. He immediately swung his katana.

Azel deployed several barriers against Nozomu's slash and a four-layered barrier ready to take Nozomu's slash head-on.

Her expression was still cold and there was hardly any change to her expression at all. Is she that confident in her barriers, or does she just believe that Nozomu's power won't be enough to break them?

However, Nozomu had no time to worry about Azel's thoughts.

Based on the density and number of barriers deployed, there was no doubt that the opponent's strength was equal to or greater than that of Rugato.

In front of Nozomu's eyes, there were multiple barriers reminiscent of Rugato's previous fight at the Irisdina mansion. The strength of the barriers must be strong enough.

The girl's appearance, which showed a glimpse of youthfulnes, was in stark contrast to her overwhelming strength. However, Nozomu didn't care and swung the katana in his hand vertically.

"Deeiii~!"

Nozomu's Phantom] cut through Azel's barrier, and one of the barriers was completely broken and scattered.

It was indeed a powerful barrier.

However, Nozomu understood from his battle with Rugato that this level of barrier could be cut through with [Phantom].

"~ !?"

Azel's eyes widen for a moment as her barrier was destroyed by Nozomu.

There were three barriers left. Nozomu again put his Qi into his katana blade, quickly overturned his katana, and launched another slash. He shattered the second barrier.

He maintained his Qi-blade and tried to slice through the third one.

"Don't be conceited......"

Azel, who frowned in displeasure, raised her hand as if to tear the sky apart. Then, the light of the primordial element that had dissipated began to gather toward Azel again.

"Wha~!"

Nozomu leaked a surprised voice. In front of his eyes, the barriers he had just shattered began to regenerate one after another.

However, it was no surprise when he thought about it. He did not know what the girl in front of him was, but what she was using was definitely a kind of spirit magic.

Nozomu could understand this because he had seen Sh?na's spirit magic up close. Once a contract is made with a spirit, there is no need to chant or form a magic formation, which is necessary for magic.

"Kuh~!"

Nozomu kept wielding his katana while biting his lips as the barriers begin to regenerate one after another.

Repeated destruction and regeneration.

Continued use of the Qi technique "[Phantom -Clad-] required a great deal of concentration and control of one's Qi. In addition, Nozomu's physical strengthening with Qi was close to its limit.

Azel, on the other hand, could simply order the spirits to continue setting up the barrier. From the side, it looked like Nozomu was attacking, but it was clear which side had the upper hand.

"I can't spend too much time on this. Let's make another move..."

On top of this, Azel made another move.

Azel's hand raised towards the sky once more. Then the barrier that had been deployed in front of Azel's eyes emitted a slight glow.

What is she planning? Nozomu, with a nagging feeling in his head, slashed at the barrier in front of him with his katana that had been infused with a blade of Qi.

Just as before, the white barrier was cut in half. The next moment, however, the shattered barrier did not dissipate and instead became a blade that attacked Nozomu.

"~ !?"

A swarm of white blades slammed into him. Nozomu frowned at the pain as if having his entire body ripped open.

"Haaa!"

However, the wound itself was shallow and there was no problem with his body movement.

Nozomu continued to wield his katana without regard to Azel's barrier, which had turned into an offensive barrier.

Every time Nozomu made two or three slashes, the shattered barrier turned its fangs on him.

The wounds caused by the shattered barriers were shallow and were only scratches. However, if the wound continued to accumulate, it became a different story.

As he was repeatedly hit by the shards of the shattered glass-like barrier, his clothes became tattered and blood seeped out from everywhere.

"Guh~! Damn!"

Even so, Nozomu had no choice but to swing his katana. He knew that if he stopped now, he would be overrun unilaterally.

However, it was also true that even if he continued to attack at this rate, his attacks would not be able to reach her. After all, this was just a way to buy time.

"Kuh~! If I keep going like this, I'll run out of steam..."

The only way for him to overcome this situation was to release his Ability Suppression.

However, Nozomu still needed a brief pause to destroy the chains that bound him. And if he stopped for just a moment now, Azel wouldn't miss that opportunity.

Although he still did not know who his opponent was, he sensed that she possessed unfathomable power.

But more than that, what made Nozomu uneasy was Tiamat, who was still rampaging inside his chest.

(Gugaa! Gigigigiggigigigi!)

Along with a groaning voice that made the teeth chatter, the black dragon tried to break the cage called Nozomu. She had been trying to bring down Nozomu in some way for some time, but Nozomu had a feeling that there was some indescribable sadness mixed in with her voice.

However, after Nozomu had crossed paths with Irisdina and the others and abandoned the option of hurting Lisa, Tiamat's murderous intent toward Nozomu had grown even more dense.

And after Azel appeared before Nozomu, Tiamat was so angry that she wanted to destroy everything.

This fact made Nozomu difficult to step forward.

"... Damn it! This isn't the time to think about it!"

Nozomu was forcibly suppressing his anguish.

It was obvious that it would be a much worse situation if he didn't do something. He didn't know what would happen if he were to release his Ability Suppression amidst the continued interference from Tiamat, but if things continued as they were, he would be tormented to death.

If so, there was no choice but to bet on it, no matter how small the possibility was.

At the edge of Nozomu's vision, he saw Lisa's figure who fell to the ground.

Pushing aside the slightest hint of doubt in his mind, Nozomu placed his left hand on the invisible chain that bound him.

He mustered all his strength to break the chain. However, at that moment, Azel's mouth slightly lifted up.

"You fell for it."

"~ !?"

The moment Nozomu picked the chain with his hand, all the barriers deployed in front of Azel exploded along with a flash of light.

The blast enveloped Nozomu, scattering sharp blades in one direction.

"Gaaah!"

Nozomu's body was blown away by the blast, his entire body was torn apart by the sharp blades.

Nozomu's body was blown about ten meters away, hit a tree trunk, and was thrown to the ground.

"This is the end!"

"Guu, gahah~..."

Azel once again created a huge harpoon of light and pointed its tip at Nozomu.

Nozomu, who was thrown to the ground, tried desperately to move his body to escape, but his body, paralyzed from the impact, was unable to move, and he fell to his knees.

Realizing that he could not evade it in his current state, Nozomu tried to tear off the chains that bound him with all the strength he could muster in his arms.

Azel, however, was clearly quicker to act.

She raised her hand and the harpoon of light shot towards Nozomu with great force.

"Guguuu!"

Nozomu twisted his body desperately to avoid a direct hit, but he was clearly too late.

However, the next moment, a flame spear struck Azel's harpoon directly from the side. Along with a burst of flames, the harpoon of light was thrown in another direction.

"Wha~ !?"

Nozomu stiffened with a surprised expression. He looked in the direction from which the flame spear had come and saw a girl with her red hair fluttering and her whole body overflowing with magic power rushing toward Azel in a straight line.

=======================================

While feeling the pain all over her body, Lisa could do nothing but watch the battle between Nozomu and Azel.

Tears spilled from Lisa's eyes as she watched Nozomu continue to wield his katana despite his wounds.

The sight of Nozomu being wounded. It reminded her of her sin, and her body was consumed with a sense of helplessness.

In this case, she was simply involved in Nozomu's circumstances, but the sight of Nozomu being hurt was itself a sight that gouged Lisa's heart to the point of helplessness.

"Kuh, uu~ ..."

One tear after another spilled out and fell on the grayish ground.

At that moment, what came to Lisa's mind were the words of the elf girl who looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.

(Good grief, are you an idiot!?)

An incident that caused Lisa's reputation at the school to suffer a sudden fall and she was almost violently assaulted by a group of unscrupulous students.

Her guilt and remorse towards Nozomu almost made her give up her will to resist, but it was his current friends who admonished her, who also felt the same way about Nozomu.

(Since Nozomu didn't punish you, you at least wanted us to blame you, I wonder?)

The blue-haired elf girl, who was called Sh?na, saw through Lisa's inner thoughts and sighed in dismay.

On the other hand, the one who scolded Lisa with fury was the dignified black-haired classmate who usually seemed free from such words and actions.

(Don't be ridiculous! Of course, I have a million things I want to say!)

Her figure, who grabbed Lisa roughly by the collar and stormed off, looked painful, and above all, full of sadness.

(But what's the use of saying that!? Even if I were to say those things to you, it wouldn't make Nozomu wake up! And also...)

Irisdina went silent after saying that much.

For her, they were unintentional words that she accidentally released.

For Lisa, however, they were words that brought her back to her senses.

How much Irisdina had thought about him, how much she had worried about him, how much her heart had been hurt because of it.

The image of Nozomu lying on the bed came to mind. Just thinking about it made her chest tighten and made her hard to breathe.

(You don't want to betray him any more, do you?)

Lisa's mind was filled with their words.

She had hurt Nozomu so much. That was why she didn't want to hurt Nozomu any more.

And hopefully, she wanted to reach out to his back once again.

She knew that she was not qualified to do so. He may no longer have feelings for her. Even so, she wanted to be as close to him as possible...

But if she didn't do anything, she wouldn't be able to return anything to him who had already thought of her this much.

"~ !"

Unbelievable heat rose up from the depths of her body, which had become weak and cold.

Lisa slapped her cheeks with all her might, and at once began to rise and refine magic in her entire body.

"Come, the crimson blade that pierces the sky..."

Azel's was now completely focused on Nozomu. There was not the slightest sign that she was concerned about Lisa.

Lisa continued to chant while increasing her magic power so as not to be noticed by them, and looked for an opportunity.

If she were to release her magic now, it would only hinder Nozomu. The probability of injuring Nozomu, who had low resistance to magic, was much greater.

With no weapon, Lisa was limited in what she could do. Nozomu was also acting strangely and was not using his extraordinary powers as he had done when he fought Ken.

Azel was so powerful that it was hard to imagine from her girlish appearance, so Lisa could not let herself be caught by Azel.

And then the time came.

"Gaaah!"

Nozomu was blown away by the barrier that exploded at close range. His movement was momentarily slowed as he was slammed into a tree trunk with great force.

"Nozo~...!"

She almost shouted his name and desperately stifled her voice. In the corner of her vision, she saw Azel, who had created a huge harpoon and pointed its tip at Nozomu. Now was the opportunity.

"~ ! Now!"

The suppressed magic power was released at once. A spear glistening in crimson appeared in Lisa's right hand.

At the same time, her ability [Niveei's Influence] was activated. The flaming spear appeared, and at once it grew to the same height as Lisa.

Lisa raised the spear and threw it at once.

[Spear of Crimson Lotus Flower]

The flying crimson spear struck the harpoon of light that was about to pierce Nozomu. With an ear-piercing explosion, the harpoon of light was deflected from its course.

Lisa then cast one more magic spell. She applied body strengthening magic to herself and stepped toward Azel at once.

"Aaaaa!"

"~! Don't get in my way!"

Azel shot a rain of light arrows at Lisa in frustration.

Lisa was swallowed by the rain of light that hit her like a shower. With a continuous burst of explosions, her body was blown away along with the soaring sand and soil.

"Kuh~, gahah~ ..."

Lisa cowered as she let out a cry of anguish.

Unlike before, she didn't move at all. Obviously, something was wrong.

The moment Nozomu saw this scene, his mind went blank.

"~ ! You son of a bitch!"

Nozomu forcibly tore off the invisible chains in his hands.

The shackles that had restrained him were removed, and a huge storm of Qi was released from his body all at once.

Immediately afterward, with an explosive roar, Nozomu activated his [Instanous Movement]. He pounced on Azel just like a beast.

"Tch~!"

Azel's eyes widen for a moment at the sheer acceleration, but she immediately poured all the light of the primordial element she could gather into the barriers that had been deployed.

The multiple barriers emitted a dazzling light. However, Nozomu did not care and thrust his katana, in which he had poured an enormous amount of Qi beforehand, at once.

The tip of the blade thrust toward Azel, piercing through the two magic barriers that had increased in strength like paper.

"Tch~, your strength has increased a lot..., but!"

Azel's barrier, which should have been shattered, regenerated in an instant. Apparently, the barriers' regeneration speed had also increased by an order of magnitude.

The barriers being created one after another kept blocking Nozomu's path.

Penetrate, deploy, penetrate, deploy .......

Nozomu's blade was repeatedly blocked, but he continued to push forward regardless.

However, the tip of the blade was stopped just as it was one barrier away. Azel raised her hand and formed countless light arrows above Nozomu's head.

"This is the end ... Wha~!?"

Azel was convinced of her victory. However, at the next moment, Nozomu's Qi-enveloped blade exploded. It became countless spears that pierced through everything and attacked Azel.

Qi Technique [Core Piercing]

The Qi that Nozomu launched burst through Azel's magic barrier in an instant. The countless Qi blades swallowed Azel and destroyed the forest in the direction it was going.

"Haa, haa, haa ..."

Silence returned to the gray-colored forest.

Amidst the pieces of crushed wood that had turned to dust, Nozomu was breathing heavily while arching his back from exhaustion.

Nozomu was nearing his limit, and frankly, just standing was too much for him. However, something occurred that pushed Nozomu further into a corner.

Smoke scattered in the aftermath of the [Piercing Core]. Suddenly, particles of light began to rise from the smoke.

The particles, which rose like snow, eventually swirled and converged to a single point. The gathered light gradually swelled and took shape.

Slender limbs reminiscent of marble. Its limbs, both delicate and strong, stepped on the earth, and the wings that spread from its back covered the sky.

The smooth scales covering its body were as pure white as snow. In its eyes, there was a reason and a killing intent that was clearly different from that of a beast.

A white dragon.

Like Tiamat, there was a race that had disappeared into legend stood before Nozomu.

"I thought you were just a human being. I never thought you would be able to expose my true figure ....... But I will end it now. You cannot defeat 'us' if you have not mastered the power of the dragon."

Azel looked down at Nozomu and turned her gaze to absolute zero. But Nozomu pushed back the spine-chilling murderous intent with simmering anger.

He readied his katana and glared at the dragon in front of him.

Nozomu's eyes began to turn red as he realized that he was thinking to kill it.

""...... I'll kill you""

Nozomu declared so while radiating a murderous intent from his entire body. Along with a strange voice that seemed to overlap with his inner being.